Dickensblog

Call for captions!

We have a couple more screenshots from The Mystery of Edwin Drood (here's one I already did, in case you missed it) that I think are just begging for captions. Let's see what you guys can come up with! Use the LOLbuilder if you want, or just write your captions in the comments section.

 

And the winner is . . .

John Crawford has won the drawing for Dickens of London and a donation to the charity of his choice. Congratulations, John! I'll be in touch to get your address, and find out where you want the money to go.

Dickens at the American Film Institute

I was at the AFI Silver Theatre this afternoon to catch a movie in their Gene Kelly centennial film fest. While there, I snapped a couple of photos of the display for their Charles Dickens bicentennial film fest! (A very good year for birthdays, 2012.)

I've already got my ticket for A Tale of Two Cities (1958)!

(Please note: Tonight is the last night to take the pop quiz and be entered for a chance to win Dickens of London. Remember I'm asking for character names, not book titles. Send your entries to gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net.)

 

A few words from our friends

• Natalia Greene wrote to let us know that Xelsion Publishing is republishing Great Expectations in its original serial form at this site, with new photo illustrations by Kerry Tse. Looks good!
• James Matthews wrote to let us know about this beautiful Dickens scuplture that he did! (Image posted with permission.) He's entered it for the Portrait Society Open exhibition. Good luck, James!
  
  
  
• Finally, Christina from ITV Studios, who's provided the Dickens of London DVD for our giveaway, would like me to remind you all that you only have a few more days to enter. The quiz is here; send your answers to me at gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. And please remember: YOU MUST GIVE CHARACTER NAMES. If you've only given the book title, then you need to fix your entry! You have until Saturday night at midnight.

Two important notes on the quiz

First of all, it appears I'm really bad at screening comments. Sorry! It looks like TypePad won't do what I want, which is to let you guys comment while hiding your comments from each other.

So instead, please send your answers to gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. I've changed last night's post to reflect that. If you put your answers on the original "Pop quiz" post, that's fine -- I'll count them if you followed the instructions. Which leads me to point two. . . .

Make sure you read the instructions carefully on last night's post. I'm asking for the character names, not the book titles. (I originally asked for both, but last night's post changed that.) If you gave only the book title, you need to go back and give the character names, or you won't be entered in the drawing.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

New(ish) contest

No one tried the quiz I posted a while back. (Sorry, Christy, but "a lot of those quotes sound like Doctor Who" doesn't count. Nice try, though. ;-) ) So I'm going to sweeten the pot. If you correctly identify which characters said the quotes below, in addition to winning $20 for the charity of your choice, you'll be entered into a drawing to win a DVD of the bicentenary edition of Dickens of London! This is a 13-part miniseries about the moments that shaped Dickens's life, starring Roy Dotrice.

Send the answers to gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. (And yes, you can use your books and/or search engines.) You have until 12 a.m. on Sunday, March 4, to enter. Good luck!

1. "Where are you staying, abomination?"
2. "Bravo! . . . Or, if Yoicks would be in better keeping, consider that I said Yoicks."
3. "Bless you, man alive, I'm everywhere. I'm here, there, and where not, like the conjurer's half-crown in the lady's handkercher."
4. "Never imagine anything. Have no imagination at all."
5. "The horthe danthed the Polka till he wath dead bet (he would have walthzed, if he hadn't been in harneth), and then I gave him the word and he went to thleep comfortable."
6. "Let him be -- let him be -- or I shall put that mark on some of you, that will bring me to the gallows before my time."
7. "I am nobody. Don't take on to mind me. Don't mention me. Take no notice."
8. "Take another glass of wine, and excuse my mentioning that society as a body does not expect one to be so strictly conscientious in emptying one's glass, as to turn it bottom upwards with the rim on one's nose."

Pop quiz!

But first . . .

A huge thank you to Mo, who has joined the Dickens Bicentennial Charity Fundraiser readathon! Mo is currently reading Great Expectations and raising money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. If you'd like to sponsor her, go here. And if you'd like to join the readathon yourself, go here to get the details and sign up. We have two readers now; we could use more!

And now for another chance to help raise funds: Below the cut is a quiz. I'm giving you eight quotes from Dickens characters; you have to name the character and the book. First person to get them all right gets to pick a charity from our list, to which I will donate $20.

Ready, set, go!

Tweeting for treasure

If you have a Twitter account, you can enter Time Out magazine's drawing to win a boxed set of eight Dickens novels. Click here to learn how.

Character contest

Thanks to Rachel for finding this competition at The Book Depository. Describe your favorite Dickens character in 140 characters or less, and you could win 30 Oxford World Classics!

Name that character

The New Yorker reviews the Morgan exhibit, ending with this:

". . . The author wrote in an initialed note to Marcus Stone, the illustrator of 'Our Mutual Friend,' about a certain character’s appearance: 'A weird sharpness not without beauty, is the thing I want.'"

They don't say who the character is, but I remember, from seeing the exhibit. Can you guess who it is? First person to get it right wins two Dickens postcards from the Morgan gift shop.